Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Polonium Re-programmed...

PoloniumSeraphim
Controlled Burn Records
Released: 4.8.16

If you’ve ever listened to the industrialized post-hardcore of The Austerity Program and thought to yourself, “Huh… I can get into this,”Polonium was the initial creative outlet for AP bassist Thad Calabrese and guitarist/vocalist Justin Foley, the mid-90s starting point. The album is called Seraphim
and it rests nicely alongside much of what influenced its creation,
Calabrese and Foley consciously adding to and subtracting from the
Amphetamine Reptile/Touch and Go idiom in order to come up with what
you’ll hear.

It’s difficult not to cite either Godflesh or Big Black when listening to the contents of Seraphim, its generous Melvins-caliber
sonic muck working so heavily within the aforementioned and, perhaps,
accidentally perfect construct of “pigfuck” and/or post-hardcore. The
factorial blasts of drum sound and eventual sludge-laden crawl of
"Bastard" set a precedent in some ways for the album as you're
continually led through torrents of guitar-accented battery for its
duration. And, while Polonium seems to cling to a basic mode of
conveyance, they make the most of it. The percussive imbalance of
"Kitchen" offers tension; the circle pit inductive sway of "Kids On Top"
offers release; the chunky chord phrase and heightening aggression of
"Nebbish" offers both. From that standpoint alone, I consider it a
worthwhile release.

All of the music herein was re-recorded over a two-year period by Foley. Seraphim is now available for purchase at Controlled Burn Records.